Keying (ship) - Commemoration

Commemoration

A large-scale model of the Keying is on display since September 2005 in the new Hong Kong Maritime Museum, in Stanley, Hong Kong. This model was based on contemporary reports and images allied to a comprehensive analysis of traditional Fuzhou junk lines.

The model is thought by some to be incorrect: the shape of the hull lacks the great curvature which is clearly and consistently shown in some of the many contemporary illustrations of the original vessel. However, the Currier print made at the time (part of the exhibit) does not show this. The exaggerations of other renditions probably resulted from western artists' being confused by the unfamiliar style of Keying's hull, particularly the high 'wings' either side of the bow, typical of the Fuzhou style, and the similarly elevated bulwarks of the poop deck.

The actual sheerline of Fuzhou junks is not so extreme. Much of the confusion with respect to the Keying may come from reported bow and stern heights above the waterline that may have been for the tops of 'wings' and 'poop', not of the weather deck at bow and stern. The exaggerated measurements in most contemporary reports suggest it was the former, not the latter.

The Museum model unquestionably fits the accounts of Keying's sea-keeping qualities better than a model with the bizarrely exaggerated curvatures shown in other contemporary illustrations. Such curvature was unknown in similar vessels: the acutely distorted waterlines that would result when heeled would have rendered the vessel unmanageable.